North Korea Fires More Missiles, Because Apparently Monday Needed a Hobby

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Monday, adding another entry to what has become one of the world’s least charming recurring series: “Kim Jong Un Points Things at the Ocean.”

South Korea’s military said the missiles were launched from near Pyongyang and traveled toward the waters off North Korea’s east coast. Japan said it detected at least two launches minutes apart, with one missile reportedly flying more than 900 kilometers and showing possible hypersonic characteristics.

That means the missile may have been fast, maneuverable and expensive, which is apparently the North Korean version of buying a sports car during a midlife crisis.

The launches came just days after South Korea publicly tested its own hypersonic missile, a rare bit of military chest-thumping from Seoul. North Korea, never one to let someone else make noise in the neighborhood, appears to have answered with its own demonstration.

South Korea condemned the launches as violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions and called on Pyongyang to stop. Japan also protested, reportedly lodging its complaint through Beijing, which is diplomatic code for “we’re telling your friend to tell you to knock it off.”

The missile tests are part of a growing run of North Korean weapons activity over the past month, including an earlier hypersonic test. Analysts say the regime may be trying to improve its missile technology, strengthen its bargaining position, and remind Washington, Seoul and Tokyo that it still exists and remains deeply committed to being a regional migraine.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have also been aggravated by recent land mine explosions that injured South Korean soldiers near the border. Seoul suspects North Korean mines were involved, while Pyongyang has denied responsibility.

For now, the launches did not appear to cause damage, but they did raise alarms across the region and reinforce a familiar problem: North Korea’s economy may be isolated, its people may be struggling, and diplomacy may be frozen solid, but the missile department always seems to have a budget.